👧👦 Ages: 3+
⏱️ Time: About 60 minutes
💡 What You’ll Learn:
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How sound is made through vibrations
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What makes sounds high or low
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How to experiment like a scientist!
🧰 What You’ll Need:
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A small, sturdy box without a lid (like a tissue box)
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A few rubber bands (different thicknesses)
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Goggles or safety glasses (just to be safe!)
🛠️ Let’s Get Started!
Step 1:
Pick a small box that doesn’t have a lid. This will be your "guitar."
Step 2:
Stretch rubber bands around the box, one at a time. Try to space them out evenly—about one inch apart—like guitar strings!
Step 3:
Now pluck the rubber bands! What do you hear?
🎵 Do the thin bands sound higher?
🎶 Do the thicker ones sound lower?
🔍 Keep Exploring!
Younger Kids:
Try using a bigger box and a smaller box. Do they sound different?
You can even create your own band! Try:
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A drum (tap on an oatmeal container)
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A horn (blow across the top of a soda bottle)
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A grass whistle (hold a wide blade of grass between your thumbs and blow)
Older Kids:
Try this sound trick with water!
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Fill a glass halfway with water.
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Gently rub your finger around the rim.
Can you see the water ripple? Do you hear music?
🎵 Try more glasses with different amounts of water and play a song!
🙌 Why This Works:
When you pluck a rubber band, it vibrates—and that vibration travels through the air to your ears as sound waves. The tighter or thinner the band, the higher the sound. Thicker or looser bands make lower sounds!
Adapted from an activity by Highlights Editorial. See the original at Highlights.com.